Although some (such as me) think that Brett Favre has a Roger Clemens-style half-season or two left in the tank, Favre said Thursday that he simply doesn’t have the motivation to play again.
Appearing on WGR in Buffalo as part of the Hunter’s Hope Radiothon, Favre was asked by Joe Buscgalia if the future Hall of Famer has completely closed the door on a return in 2011.
Favre initially said (jokingly) that he’d completely closed the door on a return in each of the past three years.
But then, after acknowledging that he should have left the game following a “storybook” season in 2009 (but for the fact that the story ended without a Super Bowl appearance), Favre said he no longer has the motivation to play.
“I could easily talk myself into that chip on my shoulder like, ‘Hey everybody hates you . . . .’ and I could motivate myself,” Favre said. He then said that, now that he’s older, he simply doesn’t have the fire to do what needs to be done. “It’s that edge that makes the great players great,” Favre said.
(The fact that his motivation for 2011 would come from the notion that “everybody hates you” suggests that he is far more self-aware than his recent actions would suggest.)
Favre said that his first season in Minnesota may have been his best year ever, and that it was fueled by a desire to quiet those who pointed to his performance down the stretch in 2008 as proof that the Packers were smart to get rid of him.
“I threw six or seven interceptions, I mean, I’ve been known to throw that in a game,” Favre said. “I threw that the whole season.”
So while he said he’ll miss it on Sundays, it sounds like he really is done this time.
That said, given his recent history, I’m sticking with my position that Favre isn’t really retired until two seasons go by without Favre playing in at least one game. If a quarterback on a contending team pops an ACL after Halloween, Favre could be able to muster enough motivation for eight or nine games.